Ohmu
Ohmu are a species that features in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
Contents |
History
Ohmu (Japanese: 王蟲, Hepburn: Ōmu?, lit: "King of Bugs") were a race of large terrestrial arthropod that formed on Earth following the Seven Days of Fire that engulfed the planet which transformed much of the surface into the hostile Cursed Earth. The Ohmu were one of many creatures that the previous humans had created in order to purify their polluted world, in addition to the plants and other insects that live in the Sea of Corruption.
Princess Nausicaä, daughter of King Jihl of the Valley of the Wind, developed an admiration and respect for the Ohmu from an early age, even attempting to hide a larval individual that entered the Valley from the villagers and her father, fearing it would be killed. Years later, now 16, Nausicaä regularly investigated the Sea of Decay to collect specimens and find materials. On one of these expeditions, she discovered the molted exoskeleton that an Ohmu left behind and used the gunpowder of one of her siren shells and her ceramic sword to remove an eye cavity as a sample to show the villagers. Close by, after Lord Yupa fired at a winged insect carrying away a fox squirrel that he mistook for a human infant, the Ohmu that shed its shell doggedly pursued him and his horseclaws out of the jungle into the open wasteland, where Nausicaä intervened on her Mehve with a volley of stun grenades, ending the enraged Ohmu's stampede. Using her insect flute, she guided the now-calmed Ohmu back to the interior of the jungle. As Nausicaä escorted an injured Ushiabu back to the Sea of Decay following the crash of a Tolmekian transport ship, an Ohmu waited on the edge of the jungle for its return. After Princess Kushana of Tolmekia fired her gun to reassert command over a group of hostages who survived the destruction of her air convoy by a Pejitean gunship, a nest of curious Ohmu was drawn to the surface of a lake in the jungle. Nausicaä spoke peaceful entreaties to one of them and fearlessly allowed herself to be engulfed in its tendrils, triggering a telepathic dialogue between the two, where she was shown hallucinations of a golden field and a great tree, and gained the insight that the pilot of the Pejitean gunship was still alive, as the Ohmu, now enraged, departed to his location elsewhere in the jungle.
Overview
In appearance, Ohmu were enormous insects that were covered by a hard shell and moved on multiple legs with them possessing multiple eyes as well as feelers. Ohmu are enormous, pillbug-like insects with green shells and multiple eyes who are both very strong and sensitive. Ohmu were the largest insect to reach up to 70 - 80 meters in length. They had 14 eyes which were usually blue but turned red when the Ohmu had been angered. Due to their great size, they can destroy entire settlements in this state, and the spores from forest plants which they scatter as they move can kill crops and render an area unsuitable for human life if left unchecked. However, the molted exoskeletons of the creatures were stronger than ceramics, capable of resisting most human weaponry, and thus highly sought-after as material for weapons, tools, and structures. Infant Ohmu were approximately the size of young adults. Notably, it was mentioned that as a child, Nausicaä once encountered a young Ohmu the size of a small dog. Like many arthropods, they grow larger each time they molt, and form a new exoskeleton to match their new size. Immediately prior to molting, an Ohmu gorges itself, presumably to stretch its exoskeleton as it forms, to accommodate growth.
Along with other insects, fungi, and the New Humans, Ohmu is an artificial species being created by the Old Humans to cure the contaminated world.
Ohmu seem to have some unusual abilities. They possess a powerful empathy which causes them to reciprocate human emotions: responding to aggression with aggression, peaceful gestures with tranquility. The touch of their tentacles can heal human injury, even seemingly fatal wounds. In the manga, Ohmu are capable of generating a gelatinous substance known only as "serum". This mysterious gel can provide oxygen to the blood of a human even if the human is not breathing, and will protect a human from the harmful effects of the forest's toxic spores. Ohmu serum is held in high regard by worm-handlers, who seem to believe it has magical properties. The blood of an Ohmu is deep blue in color. Other insects will not attack a human whose body or clothing has been coated in Ohmu blood. The Ohmu have many eyes. When they are bright red, it is enraged; when they are a very light blue, it is closing its' eyes; when they are light blue, it has its' eyes open.
Though they are ordinarily docile herbivores that feast upon the flora of the Fukai, killing any insect while in the Sea of Corruption will drive any nearby Ohmu into a berserk rage. While Ohmu are not aggressive unless provoked, humans generally do not approach Ohmu for fear of enraging them. However, a small number of humans were able to safely approach and even communicate with the creatures. In addition to their enormous physical power, a traveling Ohmu will unintentionally scatter spores from the forest wherever it goes. Land in which these spores germinate becomes unsuitable for human use, so every effort is made to prevent Ohmu from nearing human settlements. Ohmu themselves are not inclined to leave the Sea of Decay unless enraged and chasing an aggressor or intentionally traveling. While living Ohmu are feared by humans, their cast-off exoskeletons are extremely valuable as a material for weapons, tools and buildings.
If something attacks the jungle, the Ohmu will charge, thousands of them across the land and destroy everything in their wake. This phenomenon is called the great bore (大海嘯, Dai-Kaishō). They did this thousands of years before Nausicaa, and once they died of exhaustion from charging day and night, the beginnings of the Toxic Jungle grew from them and spread. They attacked the capital city of Pejite too, and destroyed everything, including themselves. In the end, Nausicaa was able to stop them from flattening the Valley of the Wind.
Notes
- Ohmu were created by Hayao Miyazaki where they featured in the setting of the Valley of the Wind universe.
- According to Miyazaki the Ohmu were actually based off of pillbugs.
Appearances
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind:
External Links
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